Feeding device for caps and the like



Jan. 5, 1954 w. J. MUNDY 2,665,005

FEEDING DEVICE FOR CAPS AND THE LIKE Filed Dec. 2, 19 8 s SheetsSheet 1 3A@ 3/ a4 32 .Z 4 4/ 4 38 45 flr-roR/vEKs.

W. J. MUNDY FEEDING DEVICE FOR CAPS AND THE LIKE Jan. 5, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 2, 1948 434 l l/fl Ill IIII

Jan. 5, 1954 w. J. MUNDY FEEDING DEVICE FOR CAPS AND THE LIKE 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 2, 1948 Patented Jan. 5, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FEEDING DEVICE FOR CAPS AND THE LIKE William J. Mundy, St. Louis, Mo., 'assignor to C. T. Small Manufacturing Company, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application December 2, 1948, Serial No. 63,081

Claims. (Cl. 209-72) The present invention relates to a feeding device for caps and the like. It is particularly concerned with caps for containers, or similarly shaped articles, having an enlarged portion from which a smaller portion projects. Typical of such objects are caps for talcum powder containers in which there is an enlarged shoulder portion with an upstanding smaller neck portion that receives an oscillatable discharge closure member.

It is a primary object of the invention to separate a mas of such objects into two feeding lines, in one of which the objects are upright and in the other of which they are inverted.

It is a related object of the invention to pro Vide a feeding device for the foregoing types of objects that insures that all of the caps are delivered right side up, so that they may be fed to a can capping machine or other subsequent operation and automatically placed upon the cans. It is an especial object to accomplish this by the foregoing separation of the objects into an upright and an inverted line, with the reverting of object in the inverted line, and their subsequent delivery into the line of upright objects.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a machine in which the rate of discharge from the feeder is controlled only by the rate of d m nd.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a feeder wherein all of the caps indiscrimi nately upside down or right side up are fed into a i n m v ng tra k, nd her after the nes that are upside down are separated out and right-.- e l befo discharge from th mach n A further object of the invention is to provide a machine of the foregoing kind which is simple in construction and which has very few movable Pa ts- It is an esp cial object of the invention to p o ide uch a fe ing evi i as o at on with the rotatable table that discharges the objects en rifuga ly ard its eriphery so hat they m y orm a mov ng ine or file a he periphery of o jects ei h r pright or in erted, and may be d livered from the periphery by the forceof rotation of e t ether with means to separate out such of the objects as are upside down, to right them and return them to the moving file also by the force of rotation of the tab-1e.

Other objects will appear from the description to follow and the drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan View of the machine;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a more or less diametrical section taken larged scale, showing the selector and turn-over mechanism;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section, on an enlarged scale, through the selector and discharge mechanism taken on the line 6-6 extending across the upper part of Fig. 2;'

Fig. 7 is .an enlarged fractional radial section taken on the line 1-4 at approximately the tenoclock position of Fig. 1;

Figs. 8 through 18 are fragmentary radial sections through the discharge and spiral turn-over mechanism at the points indicated by the lines 3-8 through l-8-l 8 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 19 is a fragmentary radial section on an enlarged scale, taken on the line |9-I9 at approximately the four-oclock position of Fig. 1

Fig. 20 is a view of one of the introducing cams of the selector and spiral turn-over mechanism;

Fig. 21 is a view of the other such cam;

Fig. 22 is a side elevation of the bracket and nearby parts of the spiral rotator appearing in Fig. 9;

Fig. 23 is a side elevation of the bracket and nearby spiral rotator parts appearing in Fig. 11; and

Fig. '24 is a somewhat diagrammatic side viewof the selector parts of the machine.

As shown particularly in Figs. 1 and 2, the machine desirably is mounted at some elevation from the floor. In the illustrated form, there is a base 36 having four vertical columns 3| upstanding therefrom. At their upper ends, these columns support brackets 32 that may be vertically adjustable on the columns in the manner indicated. The four brackets are attached to and support a circular or ring-like wall 33. A rotating disc or table 34 is disposed below the bottom of the wall 33, it being mounted in the manner such as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 upon a driving shaft.

35 that may be supported in a suitable bearing 36 in thebase 39. It will be understood that adequate bearing is provided for the shaft 35 to support it and the table 34 for the purposes to be described. It is not considered essential to the present description that such supporting bearings be shown in detail. The shaft 35 is driven by a suitable means here typified by a pulley 31 secured to the shaft and a driving belt 38 that rotates the pulley 31, the shaft 35 and the table 34. The belt 38 is driven by suitable motive means. Other driving means may be employed.

.The table 34 provides a smooth upper surface that constitutes the bottom of a container formed with the ring 33. The ring or wall 33 extends downwardly to have only a slight clearance above the table, the clearance being arranged by displacement of the collars 32 on the standards or columns 3|;

a At a predetermined elevation on the wall 33, that leaves a determined space or channel above the table 34, there is an inwardly projecting ledge 40. As shown especially in Fig. 1 and also in Figs. 3, 4 and 19, the ledge extends around about two-thirds of the periphery of the ring wall 33.

In Fig. 1, this extent is approximately. the eighto'clock position to approximately the four-thirtyoclock position. The ledge 40 may be supported by a plurality of angular brackets 4| that are secured to the ledge 40 and to the inside of the wa l 33. These brackets 4| appear particularly in Figs. 1, 7 and 19.

As will appear, the caps or similar objects to be fed by the machine are initially disposed on the rotating plate 34 and are thrown out toward the periphery thereof by centrifugal force. In order to prevent them from moving onto the top of the ledge 40, there is an inner arcuate strip 44 that is vertically disposed radially inwardly of the ring 33, and is substantially coextensive arcuately with the ledge 40, as is shown in Figs. 1, 3, 4, and 19. The inner arcuate wall 44 is supported in suitable fashion on the main wall 33. Brackets 45 are illustrated for this purpose.

The combination of the outer wall 33, the ledge 40 and the table 34 provides an arcuate channel 41. This channel is open on its inner side toward the center of rotation of the table. When the table rotates in the direction of the arrow in F g. 1, which is clockwise in that view, the inlet end of this channel is at approximately the eightoclock position and the outlet end of the channel is approximately at the four-thirty-oclock position.

A reference to Figs. 3 and 4 will show that the inner arcuate wall 44 extends down to the ledge 40 for its major arcuate length. Near its inlet end, however, it continues down as at to adjacent the table 34 for a short distance. In similar manner, it extends down to adjacent the table, as shown at 5| in Figs. 4 and 19, for an arcuate distance near the outlet end of the channel.

Between the two ends of the channel, there is an arcuate gap that occupies the lower part of Fig. 1 In order to separate this gap from the rotating table radially inwardly therefrom, there is a bafile wall 53 that is preferably vertical and -that is supported by bre ckets 54 from the main wall 33. This baffle 53 is arcuate in shape and slightly overlaps the ends of the wall 44. With the outer wall 33 and the rotating table, this bafile wall 53 defines an arcuate section or channel 55 of the machine for selection, discharge and reverting of the objects.

It will be understood that, when the objects are supplied in various and indiscriminate positions on the table 33, the rotation of the table will impart to the objects a centrifugal force that will drive them out into the channel 41. This channel is of such height that the objects cannot turn over in it but must have either an upright or inverted position. There will be an outer row or line of the objects building up within the channel so that at the outlet end of the channel such objects are delivered in line to the discharge section or channel.

At a point such as approximately the six to seven-oclock positions in Fig. 1, the wall 33 has a cut-away portion 5-1 that is an outlet or discharge opening. In advance of this discharge opening, and preferably adjacent the outlet of the channel 41 and the inlet of the discharge channel 55, there is a selector and withdrawal means provided that acts only upon inverted or upturned objects. Fig. 19 shows an object C in inverted position within the channel 41, and this view is a typical one taken on the section |9-| 9 of Fig. 1 at approximately the four-o'clock position thereon looking in the direction of movement. At this point, the wall 44 extends down to adjacent the table 34, as shown at 5| also in Fig. 4. Consequently, at such point, other objects being centrifugally moved toward the periphery of the table 34 cannot interfere with the even positioning of the articles in the line within the channel 41.

Near the inlet of the channel portion 55, there is a selector and withdrawal means. This includes essentially two tapering track elements and 6 I. The inner track element 60 is shown in Fig. 21, it tapering down counterclockwise to a narrow point. The outer track member 6| is similarly tapered, as shown in Fig. 20. The inner track member 60 is attached to a support Wall 62 that, in turn, is secured by brackets 63 (Figs. 1, 5 and 18) to the outer wall 33. Also, as appears in Fig. 18, as well as in Fig. 17 and several figures below Fig. 17, these two tapered track members 6|] and 6| terminate above the top surface of the table 34 a predetermined distance. Thus they provide a space between their lower edges and the upper surface of the table 34. This is illustrated in Fig. 24 wherein the selector cam 6| is shown in such a spaced position.

A consideration of the shape of the objects C indicates that their lower and larger portions are not quite as great in height as are the reduced upper portions. To aid in description, the lower and larger portions may be called the shoulder portions and the smaller extensions called the neck portions. Consequently, objects such as the objects Cl and C2 in Fig. 24, which are upright, can travel under the cam tracks 60 and 6|. The cam tracks are so spaced that the neck portions of the objects can be received between them as it appears from a consideration of the object indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 6. Hence such upright articles Cl and C2 pass along with the table 34 without being aifected by the upper edges of the cam tracks 60 and 6|.

However, since the neck portion is somewhat greater in altitude than the shoulder portion of each object, an inverted object C3, as shown in Fig. 24, will have its shoulder elevated sufiiciently that it will ride onto the top tapering edges of the two cam tracks 60 and 6|. The rotation of the table 34 thus drives such objects that are inverted up onto the two cam tracks 60 and 6| with their neck portions depending between the two cam tracks.

Returning to the upright caps, such as the objects Cl and C2, these will travel on along with the movement of the table 34. At the back end (measured from the direction of movement of the objects) of the two cam track elements 60 and 6|, that act as a selector means, there are two straight rods 65 and 66, one projecting off the lower back part of each of the tracks. These rods pass out through the discharge opening 51 through the outer rim or wall 33, tangentially of the direction of rotation of the table 34. There is a projection 61 on the table or attached to the base 30 that supports the object as they are guided out by the two rods 65 and 66 that engage over the shoulders and to the sides of the necks of the objects. The objects are finally discharged onto a suitable conveyer, such as the conveyer 68 diagrammatically illustrated in the 5. drawings. This. is-illustrated inaFia- 11. Thus it will bezseen thatthecam-tracks. act asguides for even the. upright object at the. pointofseparation orselection and that the guiding of such uprightarticles is then continuedby the; two guide rods 65-andr66.

The course of articles that: are upturned and thereby are moved up'onto the upper edges of. the two tracks-60 and: Si will nowbe describedz Fig.2 4 is a view taken approximately at the section line. l8---l8 of Fig. 5'. The-motion of. the table 34 forces the objects such as the-objects C3, uponto the tracksSOandG-l. Fig. 17 shows: such. an object after, it has; been displaced a slight distance. It will be seen that the upper. surface of the track 60 hasalready begun to-have some super-elevation relativelyto the upper; edge" of. the track 6i. Fig. 16, which is furtheralong in. the travel, shows the cap. C3 further tiltedaby an increase in this super. elevation. Also, aguide rod 10, thatforms :part, of a ,spiralxturn-ovep; and; which is supportediby a bracket H; has" been-introduced above: the. two tracks 610 and. 6 I: at 34p. proximately this point, so that it will prevent the object C3 from beingdisplacedofiits tracks;

By the time the: object-reaches the position oi Fig. 15, it is even furthertilted. For anarcuate-distance toward theend of the-track 60., it is undercut as at 73 to accommodatethe corner of the neckportion, which is at the very top of the object when thelatter is upright.

By thetime the object reachesthe positionof Fig. 14,, it isfurther tilted and is nearing the end of at least. oneofjthetracks, here shown as the track 6|. Th upper' edge of the-track 61 is continued clockwise by'aspiral turn-over guide or rod 14. By" the time the object reaches the positiontof' Fig. 1-3.,.the rod 14: hasbeen substitutcdv for the track: 60;. this rod? engaging in. the corner oftheshoulderrof the object:

The end of the track 60 is 'continuedby a-spiral turn-over guide rod 16. This appear in Fig. 12 on the opposite of; the neck. of the object from the guide bar-l4. By the time the'object'. reaches the position of Fig. 11 orthereabouts, itis halfway turned over; At approximately this point; the rod across the open end ofthe object begins tofunction particularly to prevent the object from descending from the, tracks by gravity.

When the. obj ect reaches. approximately:- the position of Fig. 10,.itis three-quartersot the-way over, and then proceeds to the positioniof' Fig.9 where it is virtually reverted. At. the position of Fig. 8, the object is completely reverted and is resting upon the rod 10. At thispoint,.there is a takeoii-slide 18 that: is disposed below the ob. ject; The rod lll'passes through a notch 191111 the plate 18' so that the objectcan slide onto the plate from which it descends again to the rotating table at the entrance end of the channel 41. It will be seen that the heme 53 overlapsthe vertical wall, andalso that the vertical'wall 44- descends to the table, as shown at 50in this area. Consequently, outwardly thrown objects on the. middle. part of the. table. cannot. interfere withthe line of. objects that are deposite from the turn-over apparatus.

Theseveral. turn-over rods are. supported in a plurality of brackets. InFigs. 5 andll, there-is shown a bracket. 80, which is attachedto the wall 33. This bracket also. appearsin Eig. 23 inside elevation. Thereisanother bracket .holdingthese guidesthat appears in Figs. 9.and2,g. as; well aslin Figs. Land 5. This. bracket 8i. likewiseattachedto the wall 33;. and preierablyhasxthe- The machineis setup withthe base 30 located.

upon a floor or the like and with" the brackets 32 adjusted'to dispose the wall 33 so that itsbottom edge is immediately adjacent the upper'suri'ace of'the rotating table. The construction permits the withdrawalnof the wall for" installation and servicing of the table 34. The outlet opening 51 through the wall and the projecting support 6-1 are disposed so that the guide bars 65 and GGtrack-the discharged articles onto the conveyer belt 68'; The normal rotative speed of'the table 34 is preferably such that its periphery. which is to say'theband' or circular line of the table within the channel 41, is greater than the linear speed-of the conveyer 68. The purpose for this-will-appearj Once the equipment is set up, there is only one 'moving part involved; namely, the table: 34 and its associatedshaftfi. A suitable hopper, or any other" feeding meansfrom which the objects to be'fed or delivered" are supplied, is arranged to. deliver these articles in various and indiscriminate positions to the table 34' inside the two at.- cuate channel'- sections.

The centrifugal force produced bythe rotating table 34 causestheobjects to move outwardly toward the periphery of the disc; The bafiie 53 extending down close to the discand defining the dischargeohannel 55 prevents the objects from moving outwardly beyond it. However, the verticalwall 44 above the channel will :cause articles within its length to move into the channel 41. This channel 41' is of a height. that willv not permit the articles to enter it unless they are either upright or upside down and not at any seriously tilted position. Consequently, a line of articles within the channel 41 is produced,

which articlesare all either right side up or upsidedown, and. thisline ofarticles, under the rotativeaction of thetable 34", are all moving in a clockwise position viewed in Figs. 1; and 5.

. Of course, the articlesmove outwardly with something of a spiral movement, and the moving line of articles within the channel is ordinarily, at least substantially; solid from the beginning of the channelat the clockwiseend. of the depending part on the vertical wall 44. p

the limo! moving articles within the channel 41 approaches the clockwise or outlet end of" the channel; theypass behind the depending portion 5| on-the vertical wall 44, and therefore are protected from outwardly moving articles onthe inner part of the table. By thisarrangement', the line is a continuous undisturbed line from about the beginning of the depending portion 5! on the-baflle wall 44. The articles in this line are their discharged from the channel" and enter the channel which is the selector dis charge-andturmov'er channel. In it, the lines of articles are fully protected by the vertical baille 53. Adjacent theentranceof' the selector channel,

the lower points of the two cam elements 63 and i i extend: In view of thefact that the shoulder portion ofthe objects: has less height than the neck portions-of. the objects, objects such as'the objects GI and G2 in Fig. 24': can pass under the'overhanging'camsHr, such cams being spaced above thev rota-ting.v table; 3.4; a distance slightly greater: than theheight of. the shoulder portions of the objects. These objects that-are, therefore, upright consequently pass on: theta-hie beneath the cams B and BI, and are guided by the positions of their neck portions between the two cams. At the back end of the two earns, the guide tracks or bars 65 and 66 extend tangentially and the upright caps are caused by the rotating force of the table 34 to continue outwardly in a straight line, guided by the fact that the guide tracks 65 and B6 are on the opposite sides of their neck portions. These objects will be caused to move off of the rotating table and onto the extension portion 61. When they leave the table, theirfurther movement is dependent upon their being pushed by additional articles behind them that are still upon the table and thereby being propelled forwardly.

When the articles thus tracked by the bars 65 and 66 across the extension 61 reach the conveyer 68, they are thereafter conveyed in a continuous manner by this conveyer. As the conveyer 68 has a smaller linear speed than that produced at the periphery of the rotating table 34, the supply of objects discharged by the present machine has a tendency to advance with respect to the speed of the conveyer 68. Consequently, if there is a gap between the articles on the conveyer 68, this gap will tend to be filled up. However, if for any reason at all the movement of objects or articles on the conveyer 68 is slowed down or stopped, the discharge of articles from the present machine will stop, although the table 34 continues running. The smooth upper surface of the table 34 simply permits the table to slide under the line of objects within the channel 41 and the channel 55, so that the table 34 continues its movement without moving the objects.

In other words, this machine is self-adjusting to the variable rate of consumption of the articles delivered.

If an object such as the object C3 is' upside down when it is delivered from the channel 41 to the channel 55, it will be engaged by the tapered ends on the two cam tracks 60 andtl. The larger shoulder part of such an object C3, when the object is upside down, is elevated by the neck portion to a height that disposes it high enough to be engaged bythe upper surfaces of the cam tracks. The rotating force of the table 34 acts upon the object and forces it up onto the cam track. When it is lifted out of contact with the table, it will continue to be forced along succeeding objects that are upside down.

The travel of such upside down objects is initially up onto the two cam tracks 60 and SI which thereby constitute selector means. This selector means produces a line of inverted objects. The neck portions of the objects depend between the two tracks so that the objects are thereby guided in their movement.

Reference to Fig. 17 will show that the cam track 60 has a super-elevation relative to the cam track 6|, so that the object C3 is gradually and increasingly tilted, as appears by a comparison of Fig. 1'7, Fig. 16, Fig. and Fig. 14 in the order named. -In order to keep the objects being thus tracked and tilted from jolting out of position, the guide bar [0 acts throughout the length of the spiral turn-over'against the enlarged and here open sides of the objects.

As already noted, when the position of Fig. 15 is reached, the corner edge of the neck portion might wedge against the track 50, so the same may be cut away as at 13. This groove appears the object leaves the end of the track 60 and rides onto the spiralturn-over bar 14. When it attains the position of Fig. 12, it is almost half-way turned over and is resting wholly on the bars 14, 1G and 16 of the spiral turn-over or revertin means, these bars being spaced apart to give a free movement of the object under the influence of objects behind it, as previously explained. When the object reaches the position of Fig. 11, it is in a vertical position as shown, and there the bar 10 begins to act as a support for it. When it moves onto the position of Fig. 10, it is supported on the bar 10 largely, and the two bars 74 and 16 act as guides. In Fig. 9, the object is shown in a position where it is about to pass through the bracket 8|. It then moves to the position of Fig. 8 where it is reverted, but is resting upon the bar in. It moves off the bar IOonto the plate '18, and thence back into the inlet end of the channel 47, having been completely reverted. The channel 4'! is protected by the depending portion 50 on the baffle wall 44 for a certain length, so that these objects can become well established in upright position within the channel before other objects from the center of the table 34 impinge upon them. These reverted objects then continue in the channel 41 until they are again discharged therefrom into the discharge channel 55. Being in upright position, they then move out beneath the two cams 60 and 6! and are discharged from the machine.

Thus the machine provides two lines of objects, one upright and the other inverted. Then it reverts the objects in the inverted line and discharges them to join the line of upright objects. For some purposes short of the full benefits of the invention, the two lines may be kept separate, and the inverted line may be kept inverted. And equally evidently, the inverting means may be on the lower track, if it be desired to deliver all of the objects upside down.

This machine is designed especially for use in connection with such objects as the caps of talcum powder cans. Such caps are conventionally square in their shoulder portions and cylindrical in their neck portions. It will be seen that this machine performs the initial function of attaining 21. moving line of objects, some of which are upsidedown and some of which are right side up, but none of which is tilted to any substantial degree. Then it selects between the objects in the moving line aforesaid, and separates the upright articles from the inverted articles. The upright articles are guided out through a discharge opening and delivered to a conveyer, pref erably with a linear speed greater than that of the conveyer. The inverted articles are taken upby the separator or selector means, part of which preferably can act-as thebeginning of the spiral (or, -more accurately, helical) turn-over means that reverts them. The machine, therefore, acts as a selector and reverter of upturned articles that are finally delivered back to be discharged in their upright position. 7

It will be seen that this machine acts with greatest simplicity and a minimum number of moving parts to deliver these caps or objects of similar shape, all in upright position, and all, in line. It positively reverts the articles that are upturned, but all of the force applied to the articles is a yielding force because of the slippage of articles over the surface of the table 34. Consequently, it is not subject to serious jamming, and, if a jamming should occur, it is readily corrected; Also,- it tends to fill up gaps on the conveyer and to deliver a continuous stream of objects to the conveyer and from it to a machine for further processing, such as to a machine for capping cans.

Where the claims to follow speak or articles or objects of the kind described in this specification, it is intended to mean objects having the general characteristics of the caps herein illustrated. It will be understood that the invention is not precisely limited to can caps, but can be used with any objects that will lit with this selector and tracking and turn-over means so as to attain the benefits of the machine.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine of the kind described, a rotatable table to receive articles in various positions and to urge them outwardly by centrifugal force, wall means around and overhanging the table providing an arcuate channel of limited height, the channel having a leading end and an outlet end determined by the movement of the table, a discharge passage from the table in the gap between the ends of the arcuate channel, a barrier across the gap between. the ends of the channel to limit centrifugal movement of, articles on the table, the outlet end of the channel opening outwardly beyond the barrier, means between the outlet end of the channel and the discharge passage to separate inverted articles and withdraw the same, and means to revert the withdrawn articles and deliver them to the inlet end of the channel, the barrier overlapping the inlet end of the channel so that the reverted articles are delivered to the table against the outer wall means oi the channel.

2. In a machine for delivering articles of the kind having enlarged portions extending outwardly from reduced portions at predetermined elevation on the reduced portions: a substantially horizontal, rotatable table to receive articles, to urge them centrifugally toward the periphery of the table, and to cause them to move around with the table; a wall around the table to hold the articles on the table; a discharge passage through the wall at one portion thereof; a barrier means radially inwardly of the discharge passage to provide a single file of articles traveling inside the wall for discharge through the discharge passage; selector means located behind the barrier means ahead of the discharge passage having means to select from the .file only those articles that are inverted, and to pass articles that are upright, the selector means including parts engageable by inverted articles to withdraw such articles from the table; turn-over means adjacent the selector means to receive articles from the selector means and revert the same, the turn-over means having means to deliver the reverted articles onto the table in a file adiacent the wall, to be conveyed by the table once again to the discharge passage, and barrier means adiacent the point of delivery of the reverted articles onto the table, to deflect articles already on the table away from the reverted articles delivered onto the table.

3. The combination of claim 2, wherein the turn-over means comprises a spiral conveyer.

4. In a machine of the kind described for handling articles having center portions with outstanding flanges nearer the bottoms than the tops of the center portions, a rotatable table to receive articles in various positions and urge them centrifugally toward the periphery of the table, a wall around the table, an arcuate ledge extending inwardly from the wall around a portion thereof and spaced above the table a predetermined distance, a pair of laterally spaced cam tracks above the table beyond an end of the ledge, the ends of the tracks being spaced a predetermined distance above the table sufiicient to be above the flanges of upright articles but below the flanges of inverted articles, spiral turn-over tracks forming a continuation of said cam tracks and. extending to the other end of the ledge, the tracks thus formed rising from their ends above the table and then descending to the table adjacent said other end of the ledge, a discharge passage through the wall between the ends of the tracks, and barrier means radially inwardly of the tracks to prevent articles on the table from moving radially outwardly to interfere with the tracks.

5. In a mechanism of the kind described for delivering caps having relatively shallow shoulder portions and relatively high neck portions, or like objects, all in upright position, comprising a rotating table, a fixed circular outer wall around the periphery of the table, an arcuate ledge fixed to the circular wall and supported thereon, the ledge extending inwardly from the wall approximately the width of a cap, and being spaced above the table slightly more than the height of a cap so that the cap in upright or inverted position may pass under the ledge into an arcuate channel wherein it cannot turn from upright or inverted position, an arcuate baffle substantially coextensive arcuately with the ledge and extending upwardly therefrom to prevent the caps from moving above the ledge, the baffie extending below the ledge adjacent the ends thereof forming the inlet and outlet of the channel to prevent articles from the table from entering the channel adjacent the ends of the channel, baflle means between the ends of the channel forming a discharge channel, the outer wall having a discharge opening therethrough within said discharge channel, guide means in the discharge channel com rising two guides laterally spaced by the width of the necks of the caps and spaced above the table by slightly over the height of the shoulders thereof, said guides extending from the discharge channel through the discharge opening to a point of discharge, said guide means also including upper, tapering cam edges on their forward ends, that terminate in two spaced, selector track surfaces that are disposed above the table just less than the height of the necks of the caps, and are laterally spaced by slightly more than the width of the necks of the caps, whereby inverted caps will ride up on the cam ed es, said cam edges rising above the table in a sloping manner, spiral turn-over tracks forming continuations of the tracks, and terminating at the inlet of the arouate channel beneath the arcuate ledge, and a guide extending above the guide tracks, to overlie the caps thereon, said guide twisting with the turn-over and constitutin a support for the caps at the outlet end of the turn-over tracks.

WILLIAM J. MUNDY.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 613.349 Woodland Nov. 1, 1898 1,053,634 Nagy Feb. 18, 1913 1,784,010 Johnson Dec. 9, 1930 2060.182 Dellaree Nov. 10, 1936 2,065,319 Lewis Dec. 22, 1936 2,176,659 Mundy Oct. 17, 1939 29, 03 Galt Nov. 14, 1950 

